Five Female-Led Comics That You Should Absolutely Be Reading

Greetings Collectors! This week, we here at the Collective have been taking a look at some kick ass women in comics by showing you geeky fashion, bad ass makeup tutorials, and even some fanfic recs! Today, however, I’d like to share with you some of my favourite comic series that feature a female lead, because, well…

Black Widow “The Name of the Rose”

Okay, I know that if you follow my occasional rambles on all things Marvel, then this comic book recommendation will be no surprise to you. I love Natasha, more than any other character in any comic universe anywhere, and what I love about this particular story arc is how much we get to see of Natasha’s backstory.

The story begins with the super-spy nearly being killed by an unknown assailant, and later she is framed as a traitor to the U.S. Government. Natasha has only herself to rely on as she tries to clear her name and protect a very important part of her past. She teams up with Tony Stark, Wolverine, and James “Bucky” Barnes as she navigates the tangled web of assassins and deceits. I don’t want to get too spoilery for those of our readers who don’t regularly read the comics, but read this oneif you want to know more about Natasha Romanov.

We may not have the Black Widow film we’re so anxiously waiting for, but until then, we have “The Name of the Rose.”

Princess Leia Volume 1

Gotta give a shout-out to @tehjessicacarae, the comic reviewer for The Geekiary, who told me about this new comic series a few months ago (go read her reviews!).

So the princess’s solo series starts right as where the film, Star Wars: A New Hope leaves off. Luke and Han have gotten their medals and flown to different quadrants of the galaxy. After that, it’s Princess Leia’s personal mission to rescue the remaining citizens of Alderaan, with the help of her new bodyguard/pilot/friend Evaan.

The artwork for this comic series is astounding, and the story is compelling. I really am glad that the most recognisable female character from the Star Wars universe is being recognised as a kick-ass leading character in her own comics.

Princess Leia Volume 1 is a five issue series, and the latest one was very recently released on 24 June 2015. Get out there and check them out.

Silk

Cindy Moon is my current favorite comic character. The series, written by Supernatural’s Robbie Thompson, is snarky, sassy, and the most fun I’ve ever had reading comics. Cindy’s standalone series comes straight after Spider-Verse, no spoilers here, but if you don’t know anything about Cindy Moon, she’s a kick-ass female superheroine with powers like Spider-man’s, who was locked in a bunker for most of her life and is now on a quest to find her missing family. The series is currently in volume one, with issue five recently released and issue six due out in a few weeks.

Read this one. Do it for Robbie.

Harley Quinn

The Harley Quinn comes first went into print in the early 2000s, and since the series has had 38 issues. Harley Quinn is the supervillain that we all love. She’s one of the most iconic and most cosplayed characters in comic history, and one of the most prominent adversaries of Gotham’s dark knight, Batman.

Harley was once a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum who meets the Joker and becomes his accomplice. This later leads her to having an unstable personality and embracing a life of villainy (much to the delight of readers everywhere). While she has most commonly been known as the on-off girlfriend of The Joker, it was recently revealed by DC Comics that she’s the non-monogamous lover of Poison Ivy.

Lady Mechanika

Okay, not gonna lie, I picked this one up purely based on the cover artwork. Comics & steampunk? That’s my deal. So yeah, Lady Mechanika follows the story of a detective at the fin de siècle who is part human/part machine, but all around kick-ass. She’s afflicted with amnesia and searches to solve the mysteries of her past while finishing the cases of her present.

Joe Benitez’s steampunk comic is currently in its third issue of Lady Mechanika: Tablet of Destinies with the fourth issue due for release in a few weeks.

Happy reading, Collectors! If you’ve got a comic rec for me, name it in the comments!

-The Collectress

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